Steam or Store? Help me pick...

C

coldfusion

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 6, 2004
Messages
101
Hey guys,

Here's the situation: I'm basically between the Bronze Steam option and the standard edition for HL2 that will be sold in stores. I already have HL, OpFor, Blue Shift, CS, etc., etc., so I don't need the HL: Source (new water... woo...). DOD: Source doesn't interest me (the original didn't, so why should the new one?).

HL2 and CS:S, however, look awesome, and I played CS:S on a friend's PC at a LAN on Friday and loved it.

So, my question to you fine people is, should I buy through Steam (and get to play CS:S right now, and HL2 the moment it comes out) or go to the store come Nov. 16 and buy it (and get the wonderful, tactile feel of a manual, and CD's...)? Personal experiences with Steam highly appreciated... how's the performance? any problems? customer service?

Thanks everyone,
cold
 
I bought it over steam ASAP....that day at about 2 ( as soon as i could get off work for a break and get home) ive had no problems over steam and if you want to play source right now id say go for it...i wanted the cds and manual aswell but i just couldnt wait..as i am addicted to cs :D
 
You may as well wait for the retail to come out, because its *only* 2 weeks and a few days lol :D
 
If you're not interested in the extras, just buy the physical version.

I bought it via Steam because I haven't played any of that older stuff for quite some time (And to get HL:S and DoD:S for a paltry $10 over physical price is reason enough in itself for me).

Steam has worked flawlessly most of the time. I did get one hang-up while updating, but I believe it was because I tried to join a server that was comprised of nothing but user-made levels (Downloading dozens of levels while loading isn't the best idea).
 
Yep bought the Steam silver package the day that it was offered and I have no regrets. I love CS:S and just to think that my copy of HL-2 will be unlock at 12:00 a.m. November 16th. Actually I don't know the time but alot of stores are doing midnight madness sales for HL-2 so I think Valve should unlock it at that time as well. WOOT only 17 days!
 
Get it over Steam. It's the same thing - if you want a physical copy you can back it up to DVD/CD/HDD.
 
buy it over steam.

lets be honest, maybe not next month, or in 6 months, maybe a year down the road, yer gonna throw half those goodies away....
 
Yep, and steam eliminates the need for CDs upon the frequent format. :D
 
Store, store, store. Even better if you can support your local friendly game shop. Next time you rebuild your computer or restore your smoldering hard drive, you'll thank me. Oh, and you can keep the cash from selling the game on eBay to a collector. Or you can send me a card when you decide to dust off that old 3.2 Pentium and play HL2 ten years from now.

Yeah, when Osama blasts the US with a EMP bomb, you'll be the only one in the neighborhood with a working physical copy.

Screw Steam.
 
I bought Gold off Steam. I wanted the DVD version but also wanted to play CS:S bad so it was a no-brainer.
 
There's gonna be a DVD version? Well then I'm definately waiting for the retail release. The only reason I was considering Steam was because I hate swapping out 4 cd's just to install the game.
 
RagingSamster said:
<--- Another satisfied Steam customer
Click to expand...

satisfied and steam....an oxymoron if Ive ever heard one......steam is along way away to being a good product....it has the potential to be great....
 
i'm just waiting. if they're charging full price, i'm going to get a damn instruction manual. if they had dropped the price like 5 bucks or something since they basically took out all the middle men and distributors..
no need to reward that imo.
 
Im going steam myself. Living abroad I really dont want to wait the month or so for it to arrive in stores in Japan. I have a feeling this may be the future of software deployment. Lots of good things for it; get it as soon as available, latest update, control piracy etc.
 
How do you change your steam user name?

Off topic but I hate typing in my long username.

And when I tried making a new account it wouldnt let me play cs:cz becuase it said my cdkey was already in use..... :rolleyes:
 
Met-AL said:
There's gonna be a DVD version? Well then I'm definately waiting for the retail release. The only reason I was considering Steam was because I hate swapping out 4 cd's just to install the game.
Click to expand...

Collectors Edition, which is akin to the Gold version on Steam, 'cept it comes on DVD, and all you get is an XL shirt (or tent, for that matter...). :p
 
Ugh, this is driving me crazy, you guys are split about 60/40 for Steam/Store. I'm even more confused now. On the one hand, I like the idea of playing now, as soon as possible for HL2, not screwing with CD's, etc. On the other, I like solid state backup (and yes, I know I can back up the files from Steam) and the manuals. Argh, more help, please. The more, the better! :confused:
 
coldfusion said:
Collectors Edition, which is akin to the Gold version on Steam, 'cept it comes on DVD, and all you get is an XL shirt (or tent, for that matter...). :p
Click to expand...

Hey now, enough with the tent comments, that XL shirt might be a little too small for me. :D
 
Cigolon said:
i'm just waiting. if they're charging full price, i'm going to get a damn instruction manual. if they had dropped the price like 5 bucks or something since they basically took out all the middle men and distributors..
no need to reward that imo.
Click to expand...

The instruction manual? The instruction manuals that come with games nowdays are uterly useless. For once it would be nice to have a real manual with things like the console commands and the truth about how each setting effects performance.

To find anything out for a game nowdays, you need to go digging around on some disorganized fan site. Manuals are useless anymore in my opinion.
 
Met-AL said:
To find anything out for a game nowdays, you need to go digging around on some disorganized fan site. Manuals are useless anymore in my opinion.
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I'll keep that in mind as I throw out my Neverwinter Nights manuals, my Baldur's Gate Manual and my tech trees from my RTS games.

Oh wait, I won't because they're actually useful.

Generally, FPS manuals are "useless" because it's just shoot anything that moves and guns get better as the game goes on. It's also because that not a lot of effort goes into the writing of FPS game manuals. But to say that all manuals are useless is just plain stupid.
 
Lunt said:
satisfied and steam....an oxymoron if Ive ever heard one......steam is along way away to being a good product....it has the potential to be great....
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Sounds like you haven't used it recently. When it first came out, it had tons of issues. Now, it works just fine.
 
Torgo said:
Store, store, store. Even better if you can support your local friendly game shop. Next time you rebuild your computer or restore your smoldering hard drive, you'll thank me. Oh, and you can keep the cash from selling the game on eBay to a collector. Or you can send me a card when you decide to dust off that old 3.2 Pentium and play HL2 ten years from now.

Yeah, when Osama blasts the US with a EMP bomb, you'll be the only one in the neighborhood with a working physical copy.

Screw Steam.
Click to expand...
Or you can back downloaded HL2 up and also have a physical copy.
 
AMDXPCottonFire22 said:
How do you change your steam user name?

Off topic but I hate typing in my long username.

And when I tried making a new account it wouldnt let me play cs:cz becuase it said my cdkey was already in use..... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
You can try emailing them (check steampowered.com) but they probably won't let you.
 
coldfusion said:
Collectors Edition, which is akin to the Gold version on Steam, 'cept it comes on DVD, and all you get is an XL shirt (or tent, for that matter...). :p
Click to expand...

Everyone's forgetting about the 'making of' book that comes with the collector's edition.
 
coldfusion, I would suggest you to get the Silver Package thru steam and you can make a backup of it.

I seen a small poll and noticed some people prefer to get the Collectors Edition than the Gold or Silver package, but i dont quite understand why...?

This Collectors Edition is not the same as the Gold Package thru steam but many assume it is? I think people just like the fact that it comes in a DVD, a strategy guide and a pretty box.

But i rather get more games such as DOD Source and ALL Valve's back catalog games. The collector's edition doesn't offer this and many are willing to pay more than the silver package to get less games? :confused:
 
Torgo said:
I'll keep that in mind as I throw out my Neverwinter Nights manuals, my Baldur's Gate Manual and my tech trees from my RTS games.

Oh wait, I won't because they're actually useful.

Generally, FPS manuals are "useless" because it's just shoot anything that moves and guns get better as the game goes on. It's also because that not a lot of effort goes into the writing of FPS game manuals. But to say that all manuals are useless is just plain stupid.
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OK you got me on that one. I have Baldurs Gate myself, and I 100% agree with you. That manual is a fine example of what a manual should be.

Oh, by the way, thanks for calling me stupid. I'm glad I was able to respond to your post with a little more maturity than you did mine.
 
Met-AL said:
OK you got me on that one. I have Baldurs Gate myself, and I 100% agree with you. That manual is a fine example of what a manual should be.

Oh, by the way, thanks for calling me stupid. I'm glad I was able to respond to your post with a little more maturity than you did mine.
Click to expand...

Easy guys. He wasn't calling you stupid. He said, "But to say that all manuals are useless is just plain stupid." Calling Manuals Stupid/Useless=Stupid, not You=Stupid. ;)

Let's focus on the real issue here. Steam? Store? I'm starting to really lean toward Steam...
 
coldfusion said:
Easy guys. He wasn't calling you stupid. He said, "But to say that all manuals are useless is just plain stupid." Calling Manuals Stupid/Useless=Stupid, not You=Stupid. ;)

Let's focus on the real issue here. Steam? Store? I'm starting to really lean toward Steam...
Click to expand...

the future of interplay....

"we make great manuals"
 
hehe these threads crack me up, it wont matter whether you have the discs or not, cause once you enter your cd key into steam it gets downloaded to your pc anyway.
 
I'm not calling anyone stupid. I will say that the statement of "all manuals are worthless" is a stupid assumption to make. Don't get me wrong. Video game manuals for the most part have gotten really, really bad in the past ten years. I attribute that mostly to publishers cutting corners to save money, the rise of the FPS and the apathy of the gamer. Some publishers farm out their manuals in the form of guidebooks that cost an extra Jackson to obtain. However, there are some great manuals out there if you look hard enough.

Publishers tried to eliminate paper manuals when CDs become popular. They only stopped because so many people complained. I'm not seeing enough people making a fuss about it.

Last note: I apologize if my last note wasn't clear and offended you. Yeah, I'm getting crotchedy in my old age, and I need to work on making sure I'm verbose enough to get my meaning across without ambiguity.
 
I bought the Gold package off Steam and I would say it's definately worth it. CS:S now, plus all these awesome goodies coming my way. Steam, techinically, is awesome. I've formatted my computer several times and I reinstall steam and bikity-bam-bam bam buh-bam, all the games download right away, and I have all the old games I had registered. You can select what to download now and what to download later, so you can have priority what to download, and while you're playing one game, it'll download another. I have not had ONE issue with steam.
 
Steam. I hated it at first but it has grown on me. I actually think it is very convenient now.
 
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